i took a quiz from here(try it! its pretty accurate) to discover my personal interior style. it seems to be evolving from eclectic to modern elegance. here goes:

"variety is the spice of life! And nowhere is this truer than in the design of your home... you either love contemporary but wish it wasn't quite so cold and austere; or perhaps you've always been drawn to more traditional rooms but are now at a point in your life where you'd like to pair down a bit or want to create a less cluttered and busy space (yes! yes!). transitional style is here to marry those apparent contradicting designs. And guess what — it's the contradictions that make the mix of contemporary and traditional so successful. the result is an elegant room that appeals to young and old alike. a sofa with modern lines blends seamlessly with a pair of traditional chairs. new fabrics work so well on antique pieces. it turns out that modern art looks even more exciting above a collection of traditional pieces. the room feels simple and sophisticated, elegant and hip.

the material palette for transitional style is a wonderful mix as well. wood tones add warmth to the more modern finishes such as metal and glass. fabrics are usually neutral and focus more on texture rather than pattern or color. because you are mixing two very different styles, simplicity is key. carpets are often berber in natural tones, though area rugs can bring in color much like a modern piece of art would. window treatments, when used, are simple in style as well as color and many times you will see natural roman shades or wood blinds used. satin nickel, chrome and stainless are very popular and can modernize an otherwise traditional space. on the flip side, when the room feels more contemporary vintage golds and wrought iron will tame and add warmth to the space. for color think simple. remember that you have set out to create an eclectic mix of two styles and the best way to avoid making the room overbearing is to stay subtle on the walls and ceiling. (my sentiments exactly.) whites and creams are popular and grays, taupe's and tans are darker versions of neutrals that work very well. the simplicity in the color helps keep the space feeling light, airy and fresh. (what i want!) if you'd like to add deeper color choosing one accent wall is a nice way to do so. or add depth by bringing color in at the accessory level (flowers!). the best part about colorful accessories is that you can easily reinvent the space by simply changing the throw pillows to highlight your new favorite color."

the long weekend is here in singapore. my weekend is extra long as i am on leave on monday AND tuesday *yipeeeeee* so, i was scouting ard a good deal to up and go tom(!) to a neighbouring country for a short getaway. in the midst of it all, as usual, i came across an inspiring post yet again. i love meg of a practical wedding. the following story is from a wedding graduate, lauren featured in the blog.

"Last night, I ran into a professor I have crossed paths with over the years at the university I work with. He is a quirky, thoughtful, poem-emailing literature professor, probably in his mid-sixties, who lets long pauses happen in the middle of conversations. I don't see him very often, but have been given very weighty topics to think about every time I do.

The last time I saw him was over a year ago. I was walking with some coworkers to get lunch, and he was walking the opposite direction, and I waved, and he called out, joking, "Why don't you get married and change your last name so I can finally pronounce it?" (Like I said, quirky.) To which my response was to hold up my left hand, since I had gotten engaged only a week earlier. His eyes got very wide, and he gave me a congratulatory hug, and then told me that his wife had passed away from a long battle with cancer.... a week earlier. When I asked him why he was already back at work, he said he didn't know what else to do. And then he looked at me very seriously, and said "My best marriage advice for you is to never, ever put off what you want to do. No matter how good the excuses seem, or how little money you have, or how practical it would be to wait- don't wait. Travel, move, experience new things together, and do them right away. Don't ever put these things off. Promise me."

right. so i should e-mail this rightaway to my hubby so that he would not object to an expensive spa get-away. will let you know of the outcome. ... my heart wanders. heh.

my gown was a vera wang replica. my designer, kenji from the silhouette atelier made a detachable one-shoulder strap with huge flowers so that i can have 2 different looks for the ceremony (day) and dinner reception.

as we wanted to create a relaxed, casual vibe with lots of mingling, we served an international buffet - some drool worthy delights included roast chicken duck with orange and sesame seeds, caprese salad with grilled eggplant, fresh oysters, tandoori chicken, pilaf rice, potato gratin, braised lamb with chickpeas and okra, steak, slipper lobsters ... and the mushroom soup was a big hit.

as i have a sweet tooth, deciding on a dessert buffet *yeay* was a no brainer. but i had a big problem deciding on what to desserts to have. some of my favorite desserts included - profiteroles with chocolate mousse, chocolate royaltine and pineapple coconut tarts.

we wanted to do away with some of the traditions like cake cutting and instead gave all our guests a slice of homemade fruit cake made by my aunt with love - nicely wrapped and packaged in a little golden box.

during dinner, our siblings gave toasts, we had energetic bhangra performances (complete with stunts) and sultry salsa nicely put together by gurmit's friends. bhangra was injected into our wedding reception to honor gurmit's culture as he is of punjabi descent.

before we danced the night away, gurmit and i changed to indian inspired outfits. gurmit wore a sherwani and i wore a yellow, slightly below the knee dress with gorgeous embellishments at the back of the dress.

we gave our thank you speech which was prepared just a couple of hours earlier and danced like 7th graders for our first dance. i am still secretly hoping people forget these things.

"The morning of one of my best friend's wedding was spent driving around town looking for an orchid for her hair. Of course it was a magical morning, with excitement in the air and smiles gleaming bright. However....she and her entourage traveled to several florists searching for an orchid with zero success. Until, that is, they walked into the last shop in town. That was were she saw the plant with three perfect blossoms behind the glass.

She promptly inquired about the price to the shop owner, and was slightly discouraged by the $80 price tag. But this was her wedding, and she dreamed of having an orchid in her hair. She was excited to purchase that orchid, it was a flawless orchid after all. She promptly told the shopkeeper she would love to buy it to complete her bridal ensemble.

The shop keeper looked at her. Looked at the orchid. Looked back at her. Looked at the orchid. Looked back at her. He charged her $8 instead.

we couldn't wait for dusk. it was PARTY TIME!!! i loved the entire slew of stationery. we had aussie wine, gin, whiskey and tons of local beer to get the party going even before it started! the flowers were arranged by talented jane from simply flowers.

still at decor, my brother-in-law lugged 10 moroccan lamps all the way from Doha, Qatar where he's based. we decided against topping up an additional SGD75 per table for flowers and decided on the lamps as they are definitely re-usable (definitely some are gonna be in our new apartment). the entire room felt incredibly cozy with the glowing lamps.

we wanted our dinner reception to have a relaxed vibe so it just felt right when we set foot in The Beaufort in Sentosa, Singapore. it's a cosy tropical resort by the south china sea. this was the closest we could get to a destination wedding.